DETROIT -- After playing the last four matches on the road, the Wayne State University volleyball team (10-3 overall, 4-2 GLIAC) will return home this week for a pair of outings. The Warriors will host Parkside (10-3 overall, 3-3 GLIAC) on Friday night at 7 p.m. before welcoming in Roosevelt (1-14 overall, 0-6 GLIAC) on Saturday for a 4 p.m. first serve.
"We are happy to be back home for these two important conference matches," said head coach
Tim Koth. "Parkside is having an exceptional season and Roosevelt looks to be much improved. It should be an entertaining weekend for our Mental Health Awareness and Pink Out events in the Matthaei."
Offensive Player of the Week
For
Kayla Giroux's most recent offensive honor, the fifth of her career and second of the season, Giroux hit .324 with 31 kills and just nine errors on 68 total attacks. Of those 31 kills, 21 (two shy of career high) came in the 3-2 win at No. 18 Grand Valley State on Thursday night with a season-best 45 attempts and .356 hitting percentage. Then on Saturday in the victory at Purdue Northwest, Giroux notched 10 kills and four mishaps on 23 total attacks for a .261 hitting percentage.
Setter of the Week
Also for her fifth career distinction and second of the fall,
Kayla Dulgar racked up 82 assists, which was good for 10.25 per set. The junior passer also registered three service aces (all at PNW) and 15 total digs.
Best of the Best
As a team, Wayne State is among the top 50 in the country for opponent hitting percentage (18th - .134), assists per set (40th - 12.32), win percentage (42nd - .769), kills per set (43rd - 13.34) and blocks per set (48th - 2.19). Individually, Giroux and Dulgar are up there as well. The senior middle is 26th for hitting percentage (.379) and 49th for kills per set (3.66) while the junior setter is 23rd for assists per set (10.26) and 48th for total assists (482).
Scouting Parkside
Parkside couldn't have asked for a better start to the season under eighth-year head coach Leigh Barea (83-122 overall record). The Rangers won their first nine matches of the season for the best start in program history. Since then though, UWP has gone 1-3 and owns a true-road record of 1-2.
Nationally, Parkside is among the best, ranking 21st in digs per set with 17.74 (second in GLIAC) and 27th in assists per set with 12.62 (first in GLIAC). Individually, starting on offense, the Rangers have been led by redshirt junior outside Ava Irvin (179 kills, second in league), junior right side Sam Fisch (173 kills, third in league), redshirt freshman setter Lucy Russ (478 assists, third in league) and junior libero Natalie Harris (23 service aces, second in league).
Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, Harris has been as good of a defender as anyone in the country. Her 289 total digs are 19th in Division II and first in the conference. When it comes to digs per set, Harris ranks fifth in the nation and first in the GLIAC with 5.78 per period. Also on defense for the Rangers, Fisch (46 total blocks), freshman middle Maia Olson (46 blocks) and senior middle Mariena Coon (42 blocks) have been the ringleaders above the net.
Scouting Roosevelt
In search of its first league victory, Roosevelt has been on the losing end in 12 straight matches dating back over a month to Sept. 6. Statistically, the Lakers have been paced by grad student Alessia Isgro (105 kills), senior setter Zoe Hutchinson (178 assists), junior setter Isa Grana (109 assists, 102 digs), senior defensive specialist Cydney Martinez (12 aces, 139 digs) and sophomore middle Lihi Zaibert (25 blocks).
RU is coached by eighth-year leader Nicasio Paquiz, Jr., who has an overall record of 47-158.
